Tank car



sept. 16, 1969 F, BROWN 3,467,027

TANK CAR Filed May 4, 1966 fafa/w05.

United States Patent() 3,467,027 TANK CAR Fred Brown, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Union Tank Car Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 4, 1966, Ser. No. 547,592 Int. Cl. B61d 5/00 U.S. Cl. 10S-362 9 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates in general to railway tank cars.

It deals more particularly with body bolsters conventionally employed in railway tank cars.

A body bolster is normally used at each end of a railway tank car to distribute the load from the wear plates to the shell. The wear plates are, of course, supported immediately from the wheel trucks of the tank car. The body bolsters also serve as jacking members when it is necessary to raise the tank body off the wheel trucks.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved body bolster construction.

Another object is to provide a body bolster construction having a superior load transition characteristic for transferring loads from the wheel truck to the tank body.

It is still another object to provide a body bolster construction which is considerably simpler and less expensive than broadly similar constructions heretofore employed. It is a further object to provide a lightweight body bolster construction which is considerably less bulky than the constructions presently in use.

It is yet a further object to provide a body bolster construction which easily facilitates the use of tank body heating tubes and the like.

The foregoing and other objects are realized in accord with the present invention by providing a body bolster construction basically fabricated from a single web thickness and tubular compression members in the form of pipe closures. The combination provides a lightweight, non-bulky, inexpensive body bolster which, nevertheless, affords load transition characteristics from truck to tank body, comparable with cast transition members and double web bolsters now in common use in the railroad industry.

The invention, together with its construction and method of operation, taken with these and other objects, is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the bolster construction embodying features of the present invention, showing its relation to a tank body and a railway car truck; both only partially shown;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of one-half of a bolster construction embodying a modified form of the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

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Referring now to the drawing, and particularly to FIGURE 1, a portion of a broadly conventional railway tank car is illustrated generally at 10. The tank car 10 includes a tank body 11 supported from a pair of conventional wheel trucks 12 (only one shown) by corresponding identical body bolsters (only one shown) embodying features of the present invention.

The tank body 11 itself comprises a tank shell 20 which is substantially cylindrical and constructed in a conventional manner of steel plate. The shell 20 is centered over and seats snugly between opposed sections 25 of a body bolster 15 on each end of the tank car 10. Each of the body bolsters 15 is identical in construction. Furthermore, each section 25 of each body bolster 15 is identical in construction. Accordingly, only one body bolster section 25 is described in detail and corresponding reference numerals are applied to corresponding components of each.

Each body bolster section 25 includes a bolster saddle plate 30 contoured to the radius of curvature of the tank shell 20. 'Ihe bolster saddle plate 30 is preferably onehalf inch steel plate and is approximately eighteen inches wide. The plate 30 extends from a lower end 31 adjacent the vertical center line CL of the tank shell 20, upwardly along the side of the shell to an upper end 32 immediately below the widest portion of the shell.

Extending along the bottom of the tank shell 20, and also contoured to its radius, is a bottom plate 35. The bottom plate 35 is welded to the bottom of the shell 20 along its axis and also to the lower ends 31 of each of the bolster saddle plates 30 bracketing it, as illustrated.

Depending from the bottom plate 35 is a heavy steel channel member 40. The channel member 40 supports the bottom plate 35 on its arcuate base 41, which is welded to the bottom plate by fillet welds 42. The depending legs 43 of the channel members 40 have outwardly extending anges 44 formed at their lower ends. The anges 44 define the lower-inner extremity of each bolster section 25.

Extending downwardly from adjacent the upper end 32 of each bolster plate 30, and inclined slightly outwardly, is a bolster pipe 50. Each bolster pipe 50 is a conventional steel pipe welded to the outer surface of the bolster plate 30 at a corresponding -upper end, as at 51. In this light, the upper end 52 of the pipe 50 lends itself readily to being contoured for another advantage of the invention. Each pipe 50 extends downwardly from the bolster plate 30 to a bolster base plate 55 which spans the distance between the corresponding ange 44 on the center channel 40 and the lower end of the pipe 50. The pipes 50 are here six inches in diameter, but this may vary with the size of the tank car 10.

Each bolster base plate 55 is connected to the ange 44 by a welded plate 56, welded to the lower surface of each, as illustrated in FIGURE 1. At the outer end of the plate 55, its upper surface supports and is Welded to the lower end of the pipe 50, as at 57.

The area between the corresponding leg 43 of the channel member 40, the bolster pipe 50, and the arcuate bolster saddle 30, as well as the mounting angle bolster plate 55 in each bolster section is occupied by a single thickness steel plate web 60. The web l60, which is in the present illustration (but might vary in thickness with tank car 10 size) one-half inch thick, is welded to the corresponding channel leg 43, saddle plate 30, pipe 50, and plate 55, along its edges. A fillet plate 61 is welded to the outer surface of the lower end of each bolster pipe 50 and to the underhanging upper surface of the plate 55 to enhance the integrity of each bolster section 25. Only single fillet plates 61 are shown, but two spaced plates 61 are frequently used.

Welded to the lower surface 65 of each of the mounting angle base plates 55 is an angle iron wear plate 66. In the alternative, the wear plates 66 might be solid blocks or layered plates, for example. The wear plates 66 are conventionally spaced slightly from bearing plates 67 on the wheel truck 12.

Positioned over the wear plates 66 and bracketing the web 60 in each bolster section 25 is a pair of identical web stiffener plates 70 of One-half inch steel (though they also might vary in thickness) welded along one side 71 to the web 60, along their lower edges 72 to the mounting angle plate 55, and along their upper edges 73 to the arcuate bolster plate 30. The stiener plates 70 stiffen the bolster sections 25 in that area where the greatest stresses are developed; in other words in the load transfer area.

Although web stiffener plates 70 are employed in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, and described above, the invention also contemplates using pipe stiffeners, such as in the bolster section embodiment illustrated at 115 in FIGURE 3. In this form of the invention, stiffening of the web 60 is accomplished by sectioning it and inserting a short segment of pipe 170 in the web. The opposite sides 171 of the pipe segment 170 are welded to corresponding edges of the sectioned web 60, the lower edge 172 to the angle member 55, and the upper edge 173 to the bolster member 30 (see FIGURE 4).

It will now be seen that two simple, compact, and inexpensive body bolster constructions 15 and 115 have been illustrated and described. Each of these bolster constructions costs approximately one hundred dollars ($100) less per car set than the traditional double web bolsters presently in use, and even a greater savings is realized over conventional single web bolsters. -Each element of the bolster constructions 15 and 115 performs a function effectively. The pipes 50 are excellent compression members, while the webs 60 with their stiiening plates 70 or pipes 17 0 distribute the shell 20 load.

Furthermore, since only a single thickness web `60 is employed in each bolster section it is no problem to cut apertures 80 (only one shown in dotted lines) for tank body heater pipes (not shown) in the webs. When apertures 80 are cut in the web 61, it is desirable to weld reinforcing plates 81 in them as illustrated. In such case the stiifener plates 70 are preferably inclined inwardly slightly more toward the channel member 40 to avoid the reinforcing plates 81. Leakage problems ordinarily encountered Where heater pipes pass through double web bolsters are greatly reduced.

While the embodiment described herein is at present considered to be preferred, it is understood that various modications and improvments may be made therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A bolster construction for supporting the weight of a tank body from a wheel truck in a railway tank car comprising:

(a) arcuate saddle means underlying the body and extending transversely thereof,

(b) base means adapted to be supported from the truck,

(c) generally flat web means extending between said saddle means and joined to each of said saddle means and said base means along upper and lower edge means of said web means, and said base means,

(d) and a tubular compression member joined to each generally vertically disposed outer edge means of said web means and extending between said saddle means and said base means,

(e) said tubular compression members serving as primary load transition means and said web means serving to spread the load between said base means and said saddle means.

2. The bolster construction of claim 1 further characterized in that:

(a) said web means comprises generally flat plate means welded to said saddle means, said base means, and said tubular compression members.

3. The bolster construction of claim 1 further characterized in that:

(a) each of said tubular compression members comprises a circular cylindrical pipe having its upper end cut on a bias in the shape of and welded to said arcuate saddle means.

4. The bolster construction of claim 2 further characterized in that:

(a) said plate web means is stiffened vertically by web stiffener means secured to and extending transversely of said plate web means.

5. A bolster construction for supporting the weight of a tank body from a wheel truck in a railway tank car, comprising:

(a) arcuate saddle plate means underlying the body and extending transversely thereof up each side of the body,

(b) base plate means underlying and spaced from said saddle plate means,

(c) said base plate means adapted to be supported from a truck,

(d) generally at plate web means disposed between said saddle plate means and said base plate means,

(e) a tubular compression member secured to each generally vertically disposed outer edge of said web means and extending in inwardly inclined relationship between said base means and said saddle means,

(f) and a web stitfener welded to said plate web means on each side of the center line of the body and extending generally between said base plate and said saddle plate means,

(g) said tubular compression members serving as primary load transistion means and said web means serving to spread the load between said base means and said saddle means.

6. The bolster construction of claim 5 further characterized in that:

(a) each of said tubular compression member means comprises a circular cylindrical pipe having its upper end cut on a bias in the shape of and welded to said arcuate saddle means.

7. The bolster construction of claim 6 further characterized in that:

(a) said web stitfeners each comprise a pair of plates edge-welded to said plate web means in perpendicular relationship thereto.

8. The bolster construction of claim 6 further characterized in that:

(a) said web stiffeners each comprise a pipe member extending transversely through said web plate means and welded thereto.

9. The bolster construction of claim 6 further characterized in that:

(a) said plate web means comprise a pair of web plates lying substantially in the same plane and spaced laterally of the body by a longitudinally extending structural member,

(b) said web means being welded to said structural member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,120,923 12/1914 Frede 10S-362 1,251,978 1/1918 Levy et al. 10S-362 2,595,835 5/1952 Folmsbee 10S-362 3,308,769 3/ 1967 Halcomb et al. 105--362 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner RICHARD A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner 

